According to SAnews.gov.za President Jacob Zuma says Operation Phakisa is contributing to government’s programme of promoting localisation and industrialisation.

The President said this when he fielded questions for oral reply in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

This is the President’s last question and answer session of the current quarter.

He had been asked on the impact that Operation Phakisa was making on job creation and stimulating economic growth.

“… Operation Phakisa is inclusive. All the sectors that relate to economic activities are participating.

“It is very inclusive but also emphasising on local products. For example, there are boats that are being built as a result of Operation Phakisa, some of which are being ordered and sold in the continent of Africa.

“Those who are working on it indicated that more than 90% of the material that built the boats comes from South Africa and that indicates the change that Operation Phakisa is bringing,” he says.

The President said during the monitoring visit to Nelson Mandela Bay Metro in April, he saw young black professionals who are leading projects and who were in charge in so many ways.

He said he also saw women who were participating in highly professional kind of jobs.

“So it is delivering on what we wanted to deliver. The investment that I talked about is in fact enabling the Oceans Economy to become one of the [biggest contributors] to the economy,” he said.

The President said ever since its introduction in 2014, the Ocean Economy component of Operation Phakisa has unlocked R17bn in both public sector and private sector investments.

He said a total of 4, 500 new jobs have been created in this segment.

“A number of key lessons have been learnt over the past two years. Operation Phakisa is unique in a sense that it brings together the public and private sector, civil society, academia and communities to develop solutions together.

“Secondly, Operation Phakisa strengthens public accountability and transparency through the consistent monitoring of progress. Challenges are addressed early on. We also constantly report back to the public on commitments made,” he says.

He also said that there are a few aspects of Operation Phakisa that can be improved upon.

He said Operation Phakisa provides great opportunities for partnerships between the public and private sectors as demonstrated in the Oceans Economy sector.

“However, greater effort is still required to unlock further investments in our economy by the private sector.

“Government is making progress in creating a conducive environment for investment. This includes working to remove impediments such as energy constraints, easing the regulatory environment and promoting labour stability,” he says.